[Mr. 5]

Thanks!
This jives with RealOEM.

Originally Posted by AltecBX

I guess must ppl did it already. Well here are mines.

First one is Top at 185F
Second one is Bottom at 175F

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by AltecBX

I guess must ppl did it already. Well here are mines.

First one is Top at 185F
Second one is Bottom at 175F

Could you possibly get a couple better pictures? The first one looks as if the laser is actually on the filter housing..

And did you thermostat open up? i.e. did your oil flow through the cooler?

[AltecBX]

It's dark in my garage so is hard to get a clear picture in there.
The way I measured it was to aim at the left & right arrows as in Mr.5 first picture. Is there another way that I'm not aware of? Please explain.

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by AltecBX

It's dark in my garage so is hard to get a clear picture in there.
The way I measured it was to aim at the left & right arrows as in Mr.5 first picture. Is there another way that I'm not aware of? Please explain.

That's just the arrows pointing to the bolts that hold the thermostat housing on..from FBIS's OC writeup.

The topic at hand is which oil line is the feed and which is the return...so it'd be ideal to measure the metal hoses...

[FrankiE90]

so is this correct
then?

REAL OEM
#9 is FLOW which attaches to the right (driver side)
#10 is RETURN (lower pipe) attaches to the left (passenger side)

picts taken from former_boosted

[Mr. 5]

Yes, that's what RealOEM says and the recent temp readings show this as well.

Originally Posted by FrankiE90

so is this correct
then?

REAL OEM
#9 is FLOW which attaches to the right (driver side)
#10 is RETURN (lower pipe) attaches to the left (passenger side)

picts taken from former_boosted
Attachment 481238

Attachment 481239

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by maxnix

So, to summarize:

DS is feed to the bottom of the cooler

PS is return from the top of the cooler?

Or am I hopelessly confused?

Almost.
It's this:

DS is feed to the top of the cooler

PS is return from the bottom of the cooler?


I just got back from the body shop.
I installed all of the lines and my new Setrab oil cooler.
I used all of the same brackets that the old VK Motorwerks cooler used but I changed the lines, fittings, and oil cooler core.
The only thing that sucks is that VK used AN8 fittings on the line that connects to the OC and AN10 on the line that connects to the thermostat. .
So, I have to get a couple reducers (AN10 to AN8) to hook the lines to the thermostat.
Once they're hooked up then I'm done.

[Martin_hbg]

I remember reading somewhere (maybe from one of the new stett threads about thermostat delete) that the thermostat for the oilcooler doesn't open until it reaches 240F.

If this is the case that may explain the missleading temps on your lines from your readings. The thermostat had simply not opened as yoou did not push it up to 240F...?

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by Martin_hbg

I remember reading somewhere (maybe from one of the new stett threads about thermostat delete) that the thermostat for the oilcooler doesn't open until it reaches 240F.

If this is the case that may explain the missleading temps on your lines from your readings. The thermostat had simply not opened as yoou did not push it up to 240F...?

I assume you're referring to me? Today I did an even longer rip sesh. Gauge temp read 235*F...but the oil cooler was ice cold. I'm tempted to take the thermostat housing off and remove the spring assembly. Can anyone find more pictures of the thermostat housing taken apart? The only ones I've seen from the Stett OC writeup; and they don't show that much. I would definitely do some logs to see how fast oil warms up if it is constantly going through the oil cooler.

[Mr. 5]

I've heard that the stock thermostat is actually variable between 210 to 240.
The wierd thing also is that when I looked at this picture, I was expecting oil to flow one way and then out the other.
I wasn't expecting to find coolant in there.




But, it's actually like this:

[BrianMN]

5- I don't suppose you're going to be taking off the thermostat housing to put your new hoses on, but if you're so inclined it would be awesome if you could snap a few pics of the inside of the actual housing venturis and spring/themostat mechanism! Unless you've pretty much done all the work so far then no worries

[jzchen]

I don't think AltecBX has an oil cooler.

Unless Former_Boosted_IS is wrong:

The supply side of the STETT adapter plate is the passenger side and the return side is the driver's side of the STETT adapter plate.

This is the same as BrianMN original finding but opposite realoem's... (HHMMM!!!!)

We should be careful and use the same convention: right = passenger left = driver. I think that is part of the confusion. (Right in the picture is driver side, and left in the picture is passenger.)

(Thoughts after reading description of circuit: Since this incorporates a bypass when cold I would assume the thermostat is open and oil flows freely to both the oil cooler line and directly to the other side of the thermostat housing. Since flow of fluids, like electricity, follows the least resistance it would mainly bypass the oil line. When hot the thermostat closes and the oil is only allowed to pass through the oil line. Just a theory...)

FWIW, here's a pic of the thermostat housing.

[BrianMN]

At this point I think we've determined my temp readings didn't hold value since the thermostat wasn't opened during the time.. it is quite the gap in temperature though just from touching different sides...

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by maxnix

So it is a gravity flow through the cooler.

Mr.5, please post pictures before they put the body back on.

I didn't take any pictures but I'll see what I can do.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by jzchen

I don't think AltecBX has an oil cooler.

Unless Former_Boosted_IS is wrong:

The supply side of the STETT adapter plate is the passenger side and the return side is the driver's side of the STETT adapter plate.

This is the same as BrianMN original finding but opposite realoem's... (HHMMM!!!!)

We should be careful and use the same convention: right = passenger left = driver. I think that is part of the confusion. (Right in the picture is driver side, and left in the picture is passenger.)

(Thoughts after reading description of circuit: Since this incorporates a bypass when cold I would assume the thermostat is open and oil flows freely to both the oil cooler line and directly to the other side of the thermostat housing. Since flow of fluids, like electricity, follows the least resistance it would mainly bypass the oil line. When hot the thermostat closes and the oil is only allowed to pass through the oil line. Just a theory...)

FWIW, here's a pic of the thermostat housing.

That picture brings up an interesting point.
If RealOEM is correct, then this would mean that the thermostat controls the oil returning to the engine instead of controling the flow to the oil cooler.
Example, let's say that I decide to start my car while I just replaced the oil cooler. The oil would flow through the lines and oil cooler and all the way back up to the thermostat. It would stay that way until the thermostat opened. Once it opened then the oil would start flowing back into the engine.

This could be the reason for the readings taken initially. If the thermostat wasn't open then the oil wasn't moving and could be heated up my the heat of the engine.

[Former_Boosted_IS]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

I've heard that the stock thermostat is actually variable between 210 to 240.
The wierd thing also is that when I looked at this picture, I was expecting oil to flow one way and then out the other.
I wasn't expecting to find coolant in there.




But, it's actually like this:

Mr.5, is that coolant or some type of vapor collector? I wonder the same thing. The odd part is that it is 100% sealed by the stock thermostat housing, so there it appears there is no flow from this area.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by Former_Boosted_IS

Mr.5, is that coolant or some type of vapor collector? I wonder the same thing. The odd part is that it is 100% sealed by the stock thermostat housing, so there it appears there is no flow from this area.

I don't think it's a vapor collector. I think that coolant acutally flows through there to help cool the oil. Interesting.

[raceyBMW]

If you look at the radiator hoses, there is one that flows right into the OC housing, so yes there is some cooling of the oil done by the radiator. But FBIS is right, its completely blanked off at the OC cover, so coolant just passes in and out of that chamber.

I believe there are two things going on here. From the photos of the thermostat it definitely looks like the t-stat control is on the return side of the OC.

Also, IIRC from the BMW literature, the OC thermostat ALWAYS allows some amount of flow, it just opens fully at around 240°F or so to allow flow only through the OC (and not by-pass through the housing). This is done so you don't get coking of hot oil just sitting in the OC.

So both the photos and diagram realOEM make sense if the t-stat is actually on the return side...which also make sense if there is always some amount of flow passing through the OC. Which also back up why the others were seeing the temperature readings they were without the OC t-stat fully open.

[BrianMN]

Originally Posted by raceyBMW

If you look at the radiator hoses, there is one that flows right into the OC housing, so yes there is some cooling of the oil done by the radiator. But FBIS is right, its completely blanked off at the OC cover, so coolant just passes in and out of that chamber.

I believe there are two things going on here. From the photos of the thermostat it definitely looks like the t-stat control is on the return side of the OC.

Also, IIRC from the BMW literature, the OC thermostat ALWAYS allows some amount of flow, it just opens fully at around 240°F or so to allow flow only through the OC (and not by-pass through the housing). This is done so you don't get coking of hot oil just sitting in the OC.

So both the photos and diagram realOEM make sense if the t-stat is actually on the return side...which also make sense if there is always some amount of flow passing through the OC. Which also back up why the others were seeing the temperature readings they were without the OC t-stat fully open.

I would disagree that when the thermostat is always a little bit open. When I did my temp measuring the other day, the lines hit apx 170 and 140*, and the lower connections and oil cooler were 6*, or ambient temp. All of the other metal parts in that area were also 6*.

I don't think any of us are really understanding the flow of oil when the thermostat is closed. Nor are we really understanding the flow of oil when it's open. It would help to get more pictures. Next week, if I have time and the clutch is in, I plan on taking the entire spring/t stat assembly out of the housing. If it appears logical and safe when I have it all apart, I'll slap it back on and test it out. That'd make for a pretty inexpensive way to get lower oil temps

[DesertDude]

I think you guys are misunderstanding how the thermostat works. It doesn't block the flow of oil to or from the oil cooler, it opens a path between the feed and return lines to create a bypass between them that has less resistance. So the thermostat is actually open at lower temperatures and closes at higher temps.

See page 46
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...8&d=1165592709

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by DesertDude

I think you guys are misunderstanding how the thermostat works. It doesn't block the flow of oil to or from the oil cooler, it opens a path between the feed and return lines to create a bypass between them that has less resistance. So the thermostat is actually open at lower temperatures and closes at higher temps.

See page 46
http://www.e90post.com/forums/attach...8&d=1165592709

Umm...half empty or half full?
We're saying the same thing.
What's the difference between thinking of it as blocking off when the oil is cold and opening up when the oil is hot? Same thing.

Edit, the thermostat being open when the engine is cold?
I believe that's wrong, and it doesn't say that on page 46. It's saying the oposite.

[Mr. 5]

Originally Posted by BrianMN

I would disagree that when the thermostat is always a little bit open. When I did my temp measuring the other day, the lines hit apx 170 and 140*, and the lower connections and oil cooler were 6*, or ambient temp. All of the other metal parts in that area were also 6*.

I don't think any of us are really understanding the flow of oil when the thermostat is closed. Nor are we really understanding the flow of oil when it's open. It would help to get more pictures. Next week, if I have time and the clutch is in, I plan on taking the entire spring/t stat assembly out of the housing. If it appears logical and safe when I have it all apart, I'll slap it back on and test it out. That'd make for a pretty inexpensive way to get lower oil temps

I would agree. It says the following:

A thermostat flanged to the oil-filter housing admits the oil to the engine-oil cooler...The thermostat can reduce the resistance opposing the
oil by opening the bypass line between the feed and return lines of the engine-oil cooler. This ensures that the engine warms up safely and quickly.

I think the term "reduce the resistance" makes us believe that the thermostat is open a tad where it always is letting oil flow but the measurements indicate that there is extremely low flow of oil (if any) that is going through the oil cooler when cold.